Leather composite hatband



Sept. l, 1942. H. COOPER LEATHER COMPOSITE HAT BAND Filed Sept. l5, 1938 IN VENT OR.

prijzen Cooper ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 1, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,294,654 LEATHER coMrcSITE HATBAND Himen Cooper, West Philadelphia, Pa.

-Application September 13, 1938, Serial No. 229,855

1 Claim.

My invention relates to novel leather composites and the methods of making the same and more particularly it relates to a novel composite leather hat band and the process for making the same.

This application is a continuation in part of my co-pending application for patent No. 72,123 led April 1, 1936, which matured into Patent No. 2,132,399.

It has long been customary to employ around the inside circumference of hats, a leather band commonly termed a sweat band. The hat band Ais made of leather because it must be air pervious and absorbent. This leather band which I term a hat band has the function of preventing the passage of perspiration of the head through to the felt of the hat. In addition, it contacts the head and positions the hat upon the wearersv head. The hat band further acts as a guard to prevent shape distortion of the hat.

A further important function of the hat band is to maintain proper tting of the hat upon the wearers head during the life of the hat. It has been found, however, that the ordinary leather hat'l band has a tendency to stretch under con'- stant use causing the hat to loosen up after periods of wear,

I have discovered that a novel hat band may be formed from a composite of leather and fibrous material such as fabric which serves all the useful functions of the customary hat band and in addition has certain properties which render it superior to the leather hat band customarily used in this art.

A further important feature of my hat band lies in the fact that it can be made far less expensively than the leather hat band and is adapted to commercially compete with substitute hat bands of paper, pulp or fabric material which have hitherto been employed as cheap substitutes for the customary leather hat band. Such substitutes have been found to be unsatisfactorychiey in wearing qualities and lack of strength.

I form my novel hat .band from a composite of thin leather such as leather sklver or scrapings and a brous backing material such as fabric. Since it is imperative in all hat bands that a perl:lneability to air be maintained, I have employed a novel method of joining the leather to the fabric.

I have. discovered that by employing a cement that is free of fillers or, foreign matter normally causing cement to become stii or hardened when dry, i. e., by utilizing cementl in a highly pure state, it remains soft after being dried, while at the same time providing all of the necessary adhering properties. I have further discovered that by applying this cement in a ilne spray so that Y Thus, in practice, I spray in atomized form a latex cement free of illlers upon the leather so that the latex is deposited upon the leather in such line individual globules that this cement does not seal or close up the pores of the leather.`

Similarly I may coat the fabric material with the cement and laminate the coated fabric to the coated leather by means of a light rolling pressure to secure a permanent bond therebetween. It is important to note that I employ a highly concentrated latex cement with no fillers inasmuch as such a cement aords a very soft and flexible bond between the leather and the iibrous material ywhen the joining is effected as above set forth.

By properly stretching the leather in a single direction to a predetermined degree before combining it with the fibrous material with which it is joined, I can secure as' a finished product a hat band with a predetermined degree of stretch. Since it is a desirable requisite of a hat band that it stretch, if it stretch at all, to a known degree .this property of predetermined stretch o f the composite is of special utility in a hat band. y

As the layer of leather I may employ skivers of sheep skin, goat skin, cow-hide buiiings. Similarly, skins of any animals customarily used as a source of leather may be employed. In addition to skivers, thicker or thinner leather sections may be employed. It is especially advantageous to use skivers as indicated because of their relative cheapness and because when composited in accordance with the method I have set forth they produce a hat band of the properl strength and the requisite qualities. In yplace of compositing fabric with the leather 'as I have indicated above I may employ paper or any other brous material. The particular materials employed are determined by the properties desired, and the wearing qualities necessary in the finished hat band.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a novel hat band comprising a composite of leather and fabric joined in such a manner as to provide an air pervious composite.

It is a further object of my invention' to proerably is a knitted material, although it maybe vide a composite hat band comprising skivers 1 and fabric joined lby latex cement in such a manner as to provide anair pervious hat band.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a composite hat band of leather and brous material joined by a cement in such a manner as to provide an air pervious hat band.

These and further objects of my invention will become apparent from the more detailed description of my invention takenin connection with the drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective of the sweat band of my invention.

Figure 2 is a cross-section taken along the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of a tank of treating liquor and a skin disposed therein.

Figure 4 is a plan View of the step of spraying the leather secured to a smooth surface in accordance with my invention.

Figure 5 is a side elevation of a composite of leather and stretchable knitted backing held in a curved position showing the give of the backing.

Referring now more specically to the drawing, in Figure 1 is shown a hat band I comprising a layer of leather 2 secured to a backing 3.

In Figure 2 the composite is shown in detail rand therein can be seen the leather 2 with the pores 4 secured to the backing 3 by the globules of cement 5. This figure illustrates the position of the globules'of cement, such as latex, and the manner in which they are deposited onto the leather. By spraying this latex on to the leather, it assumes the form of globules, as seen, and tends to adhere to the solid portions of the leather without blocking the pores 4. Thus a good adhesion can be obtained while retaining air pervious qualities if such be desired and, at the same time, the adhesive, being in the form of soft and resilient globules, affords a soft feel to the composite. v

Figures 3 and 4 illustrate the method which IA employ to form my composite. In Figure 3 I show the leather or skiver 1 being treated in a tanning bath 8, contained in a tank 9, although, of course, this. bath may be of fat liquor and the step represent any one of the final steps in the treatment of the leather. The factor of importance, of course, is that the leather be in a condition at least damp and preferably very moist or wet. While in the state of being damp and preferably wet, the leather 1 is smoothed out or slickered on to a smooth and rigid surface I0. This surface may, of course, be aBakelite, glass, board, or linoleum covered board or any suitable smooth surface to which` the leather will adhere in a wet condition. By suitably using a stick or a knife, the leather 1 is adhered closely to the smooth and rigid surface l and thereafter globules of a suitable iiexible cement, as of latex, Il are deposited onto the leather 1 by means of a spray I2. After the flexible cement il is deposited 'onto the leather 1, the backing 3 is applied thereto, -preferably by means of a' light rolling pressure such as applied by a rolling pin or the like. I An effective bond is secured between the backing and the leather.

In Figure is illustrated the composite of leather and fabric of my invention in which to avoid piping, I provide a backing vI5 which prefany suitable'material that has a give or elasticity greater than the eshy side I6 of the leather i1.

In this figure, I8 represents the smooth side of the leather and I6 represents the fleshy side of the leather. In order that the surface i8 does not pipe or wrinkle when it is' bent as shown in this figure. it is necessary that the backingl I5 have a give or elasticity greater than the fleshy side of the leather I6 as shown. In that event, upon bending as shown here, the backing will not tend to constrict the leather but will give.

with the bend. Inasinuch as knitted fabric has the necesasry give and, customarily, woven fabric does not, I prefer to use a knitted fabric. In the leather i1 are the pores 20 and it can be seen that in most cases the cement globules 2| position themselves on the solid portion of the leather and do not tend to block the pores.

I shall now describe the specific manner of making my composite. I first subject the skivers -to a tanning operation to produce a soft and stretchy skiver. The tanning bath and the length of the tanning are carefully controlled to obtain the desired 'softness and stretch in the skiver as indicated.

After tanning, the skivers are dyed and placed upon Wooden horses to drain. After the skivers have drained for a period of several hours and while still in the Wet state, they are slickered onto a glass or any other suitable hard and smooth surface. Skivers are preferably twentyfour inches in width and they are pulled out to their full length so as to eliminate any wrinkles. If desired, pulling out can be effected so that the leather is stretched in this one direction so that it will have an ultimate predetermined stretch in a single direction only. Thus, in the finished product the exact stretch of the leather of the composite will be known. The fabric to which the leather is joined also controls the stretch.

The tanning operation which is a novel process that I have devised and produces new and unexpected results will be described in full hereinafter. This novel tanning process of my invention is of general application and produces a fine grain leather of excellent properties.

Skivers or skins spread out on the smooth glass surface are then dried. After this drying operation, the skivers or skins still adhere tightly to the glass and are somewhat damp. 'Ihe fabric backing, viz. cloth, is then cut to the approximate length and Width of the skiver. The cut fabric is then placed upon suitable frames and the 'skiver or leather skin and the fabric are sprayed with a latex compound. A suitable latex compound comprises:

symmetrical dibeta-naphthyl para phenylene diamine These proportions vare according toweight. These ingredients and the proportions thereof may be varied. The-ingredients are mixed at castor oil.

room temperature to form a paste which is the cement. The cement is then passed through fine sieve to remove lumps.

It is to be noted that this cement composition is a highly concentrated latex containing curing agents. No fillers are used. In place of the latex composition above set forth other suitable cements may be employed such as a rubber cement containing a substantial quantity. of oil and certain flexible millinery glues that contain However, a latex compound capable of being sprayed to form individual globules is preferred since it hasA been found that the desirable properties of softness and flexibility plus weight are best secured with a latex cement.

This cement is sprayed onto the stretched leather through a fine nozzle. I have obtained satisfactory results with a 31g inch nozzle, and a pressure of 45 pounds per square inch. The

cement is uniformly distributed on the surface of the leather' in a very thin film. The globules of the cement are atomized so that they are substantially of the size of the grainof leather used. Thus, the globules of cement are deposited on the solid portions of the leather through natural adhesion and do not block up the pores or openings in the leather. In this way, by means of the sprayed latex a thin layer with Very fine air holes is deposited on the leather. 'I'hus a porous leather is joined to a porous fabric by means of an air pervious cement. In this Way an air pervious composite is obtained.

Next the fabric is spread onto the sprayed leather to form a smooth layer thereon while the latex is still wet and while the leather is still held upon the smooth surface. The fabric and the leather are united by passing a light pressurethereover. This light pressure can be transmitted to the composite by means of a, roll. The pressure upon the roll, however, must be carefully controlled so that the cement is not forced into the interstices which as above noted it is not desired to block.

Further the light pressure is believed to preserve the cement in more or less globule form cement remains soft and pliable; after drying the product may be used for wearing apparel and the like where porosity is necessary.

When the cement coats the fabric it lodges only onto the*solid portions of the fabric and does not tend to block the openings in the fabric. Naturally the so coated fabric entirely retains its porous and air pervious properties.

This step of the application of the cement to the materials to be joined is of vital importance in my process since it is upon this step that thel air perviousness of the finished composite depends. It is the fundamental principle of my invention that the cement should be applied to the fabric or leather in such form, viz. a spray, that it (the cement) will coat only the solid portions of the material and not block up the interstices of either the leather or the fabric.

After the composite is thoroughly dried it is pulled oi the glass and trimmed. The finished composite is then cut into strips about 24 inches long which are suitable for hat bands. If desired a pigment finish may be imparted to the leather or both elements of the composite before this final cutting operation.

The composite of leather and fibrous material produced according to my invention in addition to being muchless expensive than ordinary leather per se has many decided advantages over leather. The relative low cost of the hat band of my invention is due to the fact that the skivers which can be used as the leather surfacing are very inexpensive in comparison with ordinary leather. In fact as is well known, skivers formerly were discarded as waste material. According to my process, I may employ very weak skins which have hitherto been commercially useless. By means of the reinforcing that I effect I obtain the full benefits of the leather surface and the feel of the leather material without necessitating the use of the customary thicker full leather skins.

However, the thin skiver which of itself could not be used for any useful purpose, when combined with the brous material or fabric according to my present invention has sufcient strength and the requisite qualities to be used as a hat band. It is especially noteworthy that the manner of lamination which I have provided hereinbefore makes possible the formation of la strong and yet air pervious reinforced leather.

The hat band of my invention has certain decided advantages over the ordinary leather hat band. First, it holds its shape better inasmuch as the fibrous material to which the leather is securely joined prevents the malformation or distortion of the leather layer. This is an important feature in a hat band. Second, the composite hat band of my invention is more absorbent than the ordinary full leather hat band because the brous material which is composited to theleather absorbs perspiration more readily. This again is an important feature inasmuch as it is one of the primary functions of a hat band to prevent perspiration from striking through to the exterior felt of a hat. Thirdly, the hat band is much more uniform in stretch properties than the full leather hat band of the prior art. This is because a full leather hat band is not uniform since it has varying sections of non-uniform texture and stretch. Fourthly, the hat band of my invention can be made in uniform thicknesses. This is obviously desirable in large scale production inasmuch as apparatus for handling hat bands must be carefully adjusted. Plain leather of itself, of course, has varying thicknesses in different sections.

The composite of my invention in addition to being useful for hat bands, as pointed out hereinabove has a special utility in the manufacture of slippers, shoes, gloves, coats, wearing apparel and other fields where reinforced leather can be subing of reinforced hat bands. That description is applicable to the manufacturing of composite or reinforced leather for many diverse purposes. In my application Serial No. 72,123, filed April 1, 1936, which has matured into Patent No. 2,132,- 399, of which this is a continuation in-part, I described generally a method of joining leather to fibrous backing. I shall describe herein certain specific steps which make possible the joining of backing to leather to produce a smooth strong reinforced leather with superior qualities with respect to feel and appearance. The property of feel is important inasmuch as leather that has been reinforced by prior methods is thereby stiifened and lacks the softness and flexibility so desirable and necessary in leather.

The method of backing of my invention is of major commercial importance in that it makes possible the utilization of large amounts of skins hitherto without real commercial value. Thus in the field of kid skins, when a large tannery receives a thousand kid skins in the rough, of these thousand skins, after deiieshing and dehairing and the usual treatments, 600 ofthe skins are satifactory, 200 are too heavy for most purposes and 200 are so light or thin that they cannot be utilized except for linings, etc. These 200 light skins, for example, cannot be used for the manufacture of shoes, etc. as are the satisfactory 600. This has been a very costly circumstance in the leather trade and it is especially irksome because the 200 skins which are too light to be used are actually the finest skins in appearance of the entire lot of 1,000. This is because these very light skins come from the younger and more delicate animals and thus have a finer grain texture and superior appearance. Naturally the appearance and grain of the leather plays a very important part in its value and utility.

It has been impossible to eliminate the waste of these unsatisfactory skins in the past since when the skins are in the rough, their final weight and appearance after treatment cannot be accurately estimated. It has, therefore, been the custom of tanners to dispose of these unsatisfactory very light skins at a low price for uses where strength and stretch are unnecessary, as for linings, pleatings, etc.

In addition to these'skins, mentioned above, there are a large number of other light weight skins on the market available at low cost and there are also available skivers which are the splittings from skins of medium or heavy weight. These skivers have insuiiicient strength to be used by themselves. Skivers are often top grain leatherand have a fine appearance but-have little value because of their lack of strength.

My novel combining process which has been described generally in my prior application, and specifically herein, makes possible the reinforcing of these light weight skins. In addition to the kid skins I have mentioned, other light weight skins may be backed, such as, for example, snake or reptile skins, buck skins, such as China buck, doeskins, goat skins, sheep skins, etc. By my apparel, hats, pouches, etc. are reinforced with a backing so that they have the proper strength, a predetermined stretch, and ao desirable thickness to render them valuable and useful for these above enumerated purposes. The composites may or may not be air pervious,vas desired, depending upon factors such as the method of application of the binder.

Itis a further object of my invention, therefore, to provide a novel process for reinforcing skins by applying a backing thereto.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a novel process of backing light Weight skins to obtain a. reinforced leather of suiilcient strength and having a predetermined stretch.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a novel process of backing skins by taking the skin in a wet state from the tanning operai tion, smoothing or slicking out the skin on a combining method these light weight skins whichv y.

may have insufficient strength in themselves to be used for many purposes such as the manuy facture of shoes, handbags, hat bands. wearing rigid smooth surface to which it adheres, applying a fibrous backing thereto, preferably in the form of a fabric with a suitable binder therebetween, the binder being applied either to the leather, the fabric or both.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a novel tanning process and a preliminary treatment before tanning by means of which new and improved properties are obtained in the leather tanned.

I shall now describe specifically my novel tanning process and the preliminary treating process by which I obtain new and unexpected results in tanning. It is to be understood that although this process may be used to obtain the novel hat band of my invention and that this process may also be used for the preparation of leather skins before combining in accordance with the hereindescribed invention, this presently described tanning and preliminary treatment process has general application in the art of leather tanning and is not intended to be restricted to the combining process set forth on the novel hat band of my invention.

In order to obtain a soft stretchy leather with a superi-or grain and fine finish, I subject the leather to certain treatment before the customary tanning'operation.

Taking ordinary kid skins, I first test the pH value of the skins and when they are slightly acid, as is usually the case I first neutralize them with alkali, as for example, washing soda. For one hundred pounds of kid skins, I form a bath comprising:

Aluminum sulphate (Al2(SO4)a) pounds 10 Water (H2O) gallons 50l Salt (NaCl) pounds 22 Sodium pyrophosphate do 21/2 To form this bath I first combine the NaCl and H2O, mixing these two components thoroughly and placing the leather therein. Thereupon, I add the aluminum sulphate (alum) and sodium pyrophosphate in five gallons of water, this charge being delivered to the salt and water bath in four portions, every fifteen minutes. Itis to be understood that there is a drum running in the bath to thoroughly contact the skins with the reagents. 'I'his drum is now` run for one hour whereupon there is added 5 pounds of hypo (sodium hyposulphite) in five gallons of water. This solution is added in two portions, two hours apart. The hypo sets the alum. The entire mix is then run for six'hours whereupon skins are taken out and drained overnight. The sodium pyrophosphate `a.boyereferred,isb/nas an action whereby This treatment above referred to 4preserves the leather and makes for a nner grain and straightens the nbre of the leather. It further acts'tol been reached, of tanolin (chrome acid) is added. The tanolin is added in four portions over a period of six hours and the skins are run in the drum for one hour more after all the tanolin has been added. Thereupon I test the leather to see whether it will stand a temperature of 212 F. If it does not stand this temperature test, I add bicarbonate of soda to bring up the pH value and run it until it does. The range of this temperature test is from 180 to 212 F. and it can readily be determined when the leather fails to stand the test since it quite clearlyshrinks and curls up.

After the leather has been run suciently long so that it stands the above-mentioned temperature test, itis taken out and drained for 24 to 48 hours. This acts to set the chrome bath-tannage.

Thereafter the leather is placed in a drum with water, and fat liquor is added in suicient quantities depending on the softness required. After the leather is fat liquored, it is taken out and colored. Alternatively the leather may be colored lbefore the fat liquoring.

The preliminary process of treatment `above described and the tanning process produces new and unexpected-results and have wide application in the leather industry.

When the leather is to be reinforced with a backing, it is taken, after it has been .colored and fat liquored, and while still wet or moist, and slickered or smoothed out onto a smooth rigid surface such as glass, oilcloth or Bakelite. Because the skin is still wet, it adheres very closely to this smooth surface and is firmly held thereon. Thereupon there is sprayed onto the skin a combining liquid such as latex, and a fabric which may or may not have been coated with the combining liquid, is applied thereto. The fabric is laid smoothly on the leather while it is held on the smooth rigid surface and the composite is rolled lightly by rolling pressure produced as for example by a rolling pin. As has been indicated the combining liquid is preferably latex, although certain other rubber cements or suitable flexible cements may be employed.. The combining liquid is preferably applied by spraying since spraying produces an air pervious -composite Aand alsothe composite with the best feel, but it is within the spirit of this invention to apply the combining liquid in any other manner as by spreading if desired.

After the composite has been dried for twenty hours, it is pulled off the smooth surface and, if desired, the leather is staked on a regular staking machine and finished if desired. The staking machine pulls out the leather and adds to the sizeand gives the leather a better feel."

What I believe to be of greatest importance in my combining process is the fact that I take the leather and slicker or smooth it out onto a smooth surface, preferablyv while the leather is still wet or damp from the previous operations.

Y 2,394,654 it facilitates the entry of alum into the leather.

Although I particularly stated that the leather is preferably taken while still wet from the prior operations, it is within the scope of my invention to take completely nnished leather and rewet the leather and smooth it out over a smooth' surface to combine it with a backing material.

Further although I have set forth that the backing material may be fibrous material in the form of a fabric, the fibrous material can also be in the form of separated -bres and applied by spreading. Similarly, other backing materials of many different kinds can be employed.

There is a further problem in the manufacture of reinforced leather that has long been a source of great difficulty. This problem is that of piping, which, in eect, means the Wrinkling on the face of the reinforced leather when it is bent about itself. The piping'is caused by the fact that the reinforced leather is so constructed that the leather occupies a lesser area than the backing when it is in a curved position with the backing outside, than when it is in a at position, Thus, because it has been customary in the past to employ la. non-elastic backingv such as a woven fabric cemented to the leather, when the leather was bent or exed about itself with the backing on the outside, inasmuch as the nonelastic backing would not give, the leather was forced to constrict in some manner and the constriction was compensated for by the wrinkle or piping effect. This piping effect is extremely undesirable both from the standpoint of its appearance per se and also because it shows up in the finished article by a wrinkle effect. This is illustrated for example in the manufacture of y shoesfrom reinforced leather. When the leather is curved inwardly on the side of the arch of the shoe, the leather surface of the shoe has a wrinkled or piped effect.

I have conceived of a novel combination whereby this piping effect is completely eliminated, and whereby reinforced or backed leather has under all circumstances of curvature the same desirable smooth unwrinkled surface -as unbacked leather itself.

I accomplish the elimination of this piping or wrinkled effect by employing as a backing a material that has a give or elasticity equal to or greater than the give or elasticity of the fleshy part of the leather. Thus the addition Iof the reinforcement or backing to the leather has no more constricting effect on the surface of the leather than the normal fleshy portion of the leather itself. In addition to employing thisA backing material with this property of "give or elasticity, I further employ a binding agent or cement between the leather (that is, the fleshy part of the leather) and the backing that is extremely exible and elastic. Perferably, I employ as this binding material or cement, a rubber cement such as latex; the latex preferably should not have contained in it any fillers or modifying agents that would interfere -with this desirable very elastic property. The binding agent is preferably placed between the fleshy side of the 'leather and the backing with the smooth face of the leather von the outside.

For the flexible backing material with the desirable give above indicated, I preferably employ a knitted material in contrast to the woven material hitherto employed for backing. Woven material notoriously has a very limited stretcher relatively no stretch at all. Knitted material on the other hand, such as I desire to employ, has a ted material may be of cotton, wool, or any suitable material.

Although I have set forth here that I prefer to employ a knitted fabric as a reinforcing for the leather, it is conceivable that a woven material such as lastex or a woven material by a newly devised weave, could be employed, but it is essen-- tial that such material have a give" or stretch that is equal to or greater than the fleshy part of the leather when the leather is curved. As far as I know there is no woven cloth at present that has sufllcient stretch to accomplish my purpose, except woven lastex. Thus,v for all practical purposes, I may employ a knitted fabric backing.

As a specific example of the method of making this novel non-piping reinforced leather I may take a skin after the dyeing and tanning opera'- tions and apply to the fleshy side of the leather the latex or suitable flexible cement by means of spraying.- After the latex binder has been deposited on the leather I may apply the knitted fabric on to the binder coated leather.` The knitted fabric may i-tself be given a coating of latex or suitable flexible cement to insure a good binding to the leather. This particular Joining of In other Words, in order to obtain a bending i of the leather about itself without piping or wrmkling, I propose spotting or spot joining of the leather to the reinforcing backing. As I have set forth this spot joining may be accomplished either by dotting one of the members to be joined with spaced spots of adhesive and applying an all over pressure to the composited elements, or by applying a continuous or almost continuous coating of cement to one of the elements and applying a spaced spot pressure to effect the joining of the component parts.

The apparatus for, carrying out this spaced pressure joining of the elements comprises preferably a multiplicity of spaced rigid narrow elements of equal length so that an even pressure is distributed throughout the elements to be pressed. Thus, I could employ a plate having the knitted fabric to the leather may be carried out as hereinbeforelndicated in my compositing operations described.

Another method I have found which insures the formation of `a composite of leather and backing without piping eects comprises applying the pressure that effects the joining of the fabric to the flexible cement coated vleather by means of a multiplicity of prong like extensions. For example, I can employ a brush having relatively stiff bristles which I press down perpendicularly with respect to the fabric positioned on the flexible cement coated leather and therebyeffect spaced or spotted adhesion of the reinforcing fabric to the leather. 4

Preferably the flexible cement is applied in the form of a spray over the leather and this spray may be relatively dense or relatively separated. In other words the cement coating on the leather may be almost continuous, or in fact continuous,

distributed thereon a multiplicity of rod-like elements of equal length and apply such plate perpendicularly with respect to the elements to be vjoined so that the points of the rod-like elements strike the composite to be united.

Although I have set forth that this desirable break can be obtained by spacing the cement particles one from the other or by using a coating of cement and spacing the pressure elements, the latter method has a particular advantage since the cement when in spots has a tendency to show through on the face of the leather. When very thin leather is employed a further advantage results in that the all over uniform coating imparts a uniformity to the final product.

The pressure which I employ to effect the joining when employing the multiplicity of pressure elements ranges from about -twenty-ve to one y hundred and twenty-five pounds per square foot, the exact amount of pressure being determined for the thickness of the elements to be'joined and for the use of the final product. The pressure is also determined by the character of the cement.

I claim:

A hat band comprising a, layer of leather and a knitted fabric united by a layer of cement, said fabric having a greater elasticity than' leather, said cement consisting of a latex free of fillers to form spaced particles permitting passage of air therethrough.

HIMEN COOPER. 

